


New York's Mightiest Heroes

by nottonyharrison



Series: MediAvengers [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, In series meta, Media Parody, New York Magazine, News Media, article
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-16
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2017-12-12 22:05:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/816562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nottonyharrison/pseuds/nottonyharrison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i><b>New York Magazine scans - December 13 2010</b></i><br/><i>New York's Mightiest Heroes</i> -- Almost a month on from the devastating events in New York, Norah Winters catches up with two thirds of The Avengers, and finds out how six barely acquainted people managed to save the world. Includes transcript.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New York's Mightiest Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> Originally made for the [MediAvengers tumblr](http://mediavengers.tumblr.com), a project I'm currently working on to create magazine and newspaper articles from the MCU.
> 
>  
> 
> **To view the full size image, please right click, and choose 'open image in new tab', then click on the image to zoom to 100%  
> **  
>  TRANSCRIPT BELOW IMAGES

_..._

_Almost a month on from the devastating events in New York,_ Norah Winters _catches up with two thirds of The Avengers, and finds out how six barely acquainted people managed to save the world._

...

 

My first and only visit to Stark Tower doesn't turn out exactly as imagined it would. In my mind, the first off the grid skyscraper in New York would be cold and clinical. A harsh combination of concrete and metal, with little feeling; no character or soul. To be honest, I didn't really expect much of the human interaction either.

And while yes, the tower is a beacon of the modern age, my experience there was anything but soulless.

On arrival, I'm ushered into a waiting room by an aide, offered an array of refreshments to keep me fed and watered while I wait, and promptly handed a tablet to interface with the large flat screen suspended on the bright yellow wall. I switch it to CNN in the hopes that I may come across some fodder for my interview, and sit back with a cup of tea.

It's twenty minutes before the aide returns, apologizing for the wait, and leading me towards the far end of a bank of elevators in the cavernous foyer. The ride to the eighty-seventh floor is a long one, but the young man is friendly and clearly adept at small talk. Eventually we arrive at a floor that appears empty, nothing but plain white walls and echoing, bare space. There is a small cluster of people at the far end silhouetted against the watery winter light coming through the wall of windows. None react apart from the man in the blue helmet, and a tall, willowy redhead I know to be the CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts.

The greeting is warm, if a little wary. Potts is gracious and friendly, introducing three of the four others present by name. The man in the helmet, Captain America, shakes my hand last, and insists on simply being called 'Cap'. His smile is infectious, charming, and strangely patriotic, even out of the uniform.

There is a pause as we are all seated, the modern furniture the only chattels occupying the space, and Tony Stark cracks a dubiously appropriate joke about the floor only just having had its windows replaced.

The next few minutes are spent discussing the absence of the final two members of the team. Thor, who recently was confirmed to be an extradimensional being, has returned to his home. Doctor Bruce Banner, the irradiated nuclear physicist who transforms into the green giant, The Hulk, is simply ‘indisposed.’ 

A photographer, Stark's own, I am informed,I snaps a few candid photographs of our group, and Potts informs me that the images will be made available as soon as they have been vetted by their security team. As we're discussing the security behind the photography, a wry voice comes from the far end of one of the sofas, and Clint Barton, otherwise known as 'Hawkeye' smirks at Cap and asks if he's going to accidentally reveal the rest of his face while he's scratching his nose.

The rest of the team snickers, and the remaining air of wary tension is finally broken.

More refreshments are offered, and before I know it, I'm neck deep in witty banter, and friendly ribbing. ~~~~Still, I do sense a little unease between some members of the group.

The only other woman present is the Black Widow, introduced to me as Natalie Rushman. While Potts seems to be the person keeping The Avengers organized and on time, Rushman is clearly the one keeping them in line. A word here, or a look there, and even the normally loose-lipped and arrogant Stark shuts down.

“She jabbed me in the... side once,” Stark comments lamely at one point, clearly ready to launch into an interesting story that doesn't quite pass Rushman's muster.

Stark, despite the apparent muzzling, is still his normal vivacious self. Cap is open and honest, although he still refuses to confirm nor deny the rumors that he is, in fact, the one and the same Captain America that many remember from the Second World War. Barton appears quiet and reserved at first, but proves to have a wry and cutting sense of humor, and Rushman is straightforward and friendly, if a little cold.

Having recently announced a $2.5 billion relief package to aid the Manhattan rebuild (the total cost is expected to surpass $160bn), Stark and Potts are surprisingly reluctant to discus their philanthropic deeds, instead keen to steer the topic back onto that of The Avengers.

“The world needs [us]. The best of the best. The best and the brightest. Symbols. Icons. It's a time of healing. It's a time to tell people we're looking out for them,” says Stark. A quotable quote if I ever heard one. He turns to Cap, who nods in agreement.

“There's got to be someone who'll fight for the dream against any foe. We've got to keep fighting these fights until we win. Because if we lose them – there's no hope for any of us.” Cap pauses for a moment and gestures towards Clint and Natalie. “These two are just people, like you, but they fight to hold on to what we, as individuals, value dearly. Independence, liberty, the right to stand up against oppression and social injustice, no matter how powerful our enemies may seem. These aliens, they underestimated humanity, and we can only hope we have sent a message to anyone else looking at earth as a place to set down. We're not pushovers, we have godly allies, and nine foot tall irradiated giants, but most of all, we have _humanity_.”

When I, in turn, ask about evil within humanity, Cap's face darkens, and Natalie interjects. “I think there will always be an element of evil, and a desire for power amongst many people, but at the end of the day, would we rather the devil we know, or one who hails from hundreds of light years from Earth, looking for nothing but a planet to wipe out and repopulate?”

“Some are claiming that perhaps _you_ , yourselves, are the devils, how do you feel about that?” I ask, not without nerves.

Barton looks up from where he had been studying his fingernails, eyes hard and mouth set in a straight line. “The only person here who has the right to deny those claims is Cap. The rest of us...” he sighs and rubs his temple. “Well, let's just say I'm not afraid to admit that I was being mind controlled by Loki. And I ain't going to be forgetting about that any time soon.”

Natalie nods in agreement. “I'm a former covert operative, Stark used to make the weapons I used. We're both sinners, and although for all of us it may be a product of coercion or duty, that doesn't make it any less true.”

“Cap trusted me, had faith in me, when I wasn't even sure I could trust myself,” adds Hawkeye.

Cap clips Barton around the ear and tells him to stop putting him in a pedestal. Stark laughs and tells him to “get off [his] high horse, then.”

Cap frowns, and responds by commenting about Stark's overinflated ego. An uneasy look passes between Potts and Rushman, but then Stark claps Cap on the shoulder and grins. “Baby, you know my ego is its own entity, embrace it.”

Cap rolls his eyes and shrugs off Stark's hand. “Only when you accept that my high horse is merely my inherent goodness shining through. Would you rather I sparkled?”

Stark makes a face and turns to me. “There's your scoop, Cap finally admits to being named Edward Cullen.”

Everyone laughs, and Barton claims next on their agenda is ridding the world of the aforementioned vampire franchise. I hang my head in shame and admit to indulging in the guilty pleasure. Barton tosses his head back and cackles, stomping his feet in glee.

Steering the conversation back on track, I ask Stark about the upcoming rebuild effort, and if he will be using the Iron Man suit to contribute. He smirks and asks if two and a half billion dollars isn't enough, but bats away my concern with a flippant wave of his hand.

“Of course I'm going to be pitching in, as are these three.” He gestures to the other Avengers. “After all, although we did save the world from alien domination, there is that small part where we helped destroy most of Midtown.”

“Lesser of two evils though, right?” I ask.

Stark opens his mouth to respond, but Barton interjects. “That's what I said, but Cap said we have to so...” Natalie glares at him, and he looks back at her innocently. “What?” He points at Stark. “He would have said it if I didn't!”

Natalie cocks her head and nods. “Fair call, Clint. I'll give you that one.”

 

...

 

Despite being an odd group of people, super powered or no, The Avengers are adamant that should the need arise, they will be here to help save the world again. Although not directly stated, the implication that they have had regular meetings over the past month is certainly there. When I ask about the apparent animosity between Cap and Stark, Potts takes over for a moment, admitting that there was a clash of ideals at first, but that their banter is perhaps less aggressive than it looks.

“Cap doesn't like bullies. I can be a bit of a bully sometimes,” adds Stark. Cap shakes his head and calls him an idiot.

“Personally, Stark, I think you just have a very strange manifestation of Asperger Syndrome,” comments Barton. Stark pokes his tongue out and tells him to go fuck himself, and Barton smiles widely. “And here I was thinking _you_ were the one we could always count on to pleasure himself.”

Hawkeye is, of course, referring to the infamous 2009 senate hearing in which Stark publicly proclaimed the Iron Man armor to be a 'high tech prosthesis', and dubbed members of the senate 'assclowns' live on CSPAN, cementing his stance on intellectual property, and proving that despite his lengthy imprisonment in Afghanistan, he hadn't lost any of his way with words.

When I ask how Stark feels about going from a hero working on his own, so someone working in a team, he shrugs. “When I was a kid, I didn't share the toys very well. Had a bad incident with some lincoln logs... whatever. Point is, I do have a responsibility to keep my inventions, and the Iron Man armor, away from evil hands – but I have a greater responsibility to oppose evil in any way that I can. The only way I can see that right now, is with this team at my back.”

And it's a good thing this was the case. Without Iron Man, chances are we would not be sitting here today. While Stark admits that he feels the team could have defeated the Chitauri without him, grainy video of him disappearing into the dimensional portal above Stark Tower shows him carrying a missile shaped device, with many claiming it was a nuclear warhead sent to destroy the city. A last ditch attempt to contain the invading forces.

When I ask about this, Stark claims to not know exactly what the missile was, only that yes, he sent it through the portal, and no, he wouldn't talk about what he saw on the other side.

The conversation then turns to Natalie, who was the one to shut down the device on top of the tower powering the portal. She, along with an unnamed scientist who, like Hawkeye, had been under the mind control of the being known only as Loki, managed to activate a fail-safe with little more than a magical staff and a prayer.

“It sounds ridiculous, but it's true,” Rushman says. “Until a month ago, this world of aliens and magic would seem fantastical, but it's the reality we now live in. An extradimensional being named Thor helped us save the world. His adopted brother helped try to destroy it, with an energy we have never known in this world before. I honestly can't think of anything that might surprise me, magical or otherwise. Working in the presence of gods and monsters will do that to you.”

“And what of Loki?” I ask. “The public is aware of his existence and yet there hasn't been an official announcement of his fate.”

Cap smiles. “I think the reports and telephoto lens photographs from Central Park are reasonable confirmation that he is no longer on Earth.” He goes on to dismiss conspiracy theorists, instead confirming that both the villain, and the object that caused the battle in the first place, are safely returned to their home dimension.

When I ask if Thor will be returning to Earth, nobody is able to answer. The general consensus is hopeful optimism, but Stark claims that his transportation device was damaged in the battle, only allowing a one way return home.

“And what about those who claim these two beings should be held accountable here on earth?”

“We've never had to deal with interstellar, or even interdimensional, politics before. I don't think anyone really knows exactly where we stand here, but I certainly think we do not have the facilities to contain a being of such power as Loki,” replies Cap. “And ultimately, the powers that be don't really want to cause an interstellar incident.”

The rest of the team nods in agreement, and Barton goes back to picking at his fingernails. Rushman swats at his wrists and tells him to stop fidgeting, and he sits on his hands in an exaggerated manner. She rolls her eyes and turns back to me.

“Being the only woman on the team is like finding a new job as a monkey herder. Thank goodness Ms Potts looks after Stark and Doctor Banner.”

Potts smiles wryly and doesn't comment, instead using the moment to segue into a short exchange about Banner, apologizing once again for his absence, and informing us he is well, and currently not green. When I ask if his being unavailable is due to concerns from the military, she simply replies with _'no comment'_.

“We've got him locked up in the basement, he's only allowed out for playtime every second Thursday,” quips Stark. He quickly directs the conversation onto Hawkeye. “So anyway, this dude over here jumped off a thirty story building with nothing but a bow and arrow to keep him company.”

Barton scratches his head, hands now safely back in his lap, and mutters something unintelligible. Stark leans over and prods him repeatedly until he speaks louder. “I’m just a guy... I go home to my apartment, drink a couple of beers, fall asleep watching cowboy movies... I just happen to be a really good shot.”

“And completely bat shit insane,” replies Stark.

“Only every second Thursday,” Barton again, proving he has a sharp sense of humor to go with his alleged insanity. Everyone laughs.

When I ask him about his earlier life however, he returns to the subdued demeanor he displayed early on in the interview. His story is short and sad, simply boiling down to parents dead at a young age, followed by a few years in an orphanage, culminating in what he calls“the world’s most awful cliché”– running away to the circus.

“Then I got noticed, met Natalie, ended up with the military, and the rest is history.”

So a metaphorical rags to riches story, then?

He barks a laugh. “Something like that.” He shares a glance with Natalie, and I can't help but be curious about their clear history working together. When I ask, Rushman is quick to respond.

“I'm afraid that's still classified.” I'm not surprised at being shut down, but I do ask her why the lack of reluctance to reveal her identity. She smiles and only hesitates for a moment when responding. “Sometimes you have to make personal sacrifices when you save the world. Cell phone cameras are the darndest things, aren't they?”

“I didn't get a choice,” adds Barton. “Carnies have some of the loosest lips on the planet.” More snickers from everyone bar Cap, who rolls his eyes. When I ask about his still secret identity, he glances at Natalie who nods.

“People are going to make assumptions, you've seen the photos of me without my mask, you've seen the photos and newsreels of the original Captain America. There are people out there who are pretty darn accurate with their theories, but I'm afraid I'm unable to officially reveal my identity at this stage.”

“So you are Steve Rogers then?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.”

I desperately want to ask more questions about how, if the theory is true, he has lived for so many years, so incredibly well preserved, but I'm afraid whatever military agency is pulling his strings will descend on me at any moment. I settle for asking him what, if he were Steve Rogers, he would think of the twenty-first century. “Would you be like many older folk, or a little more eager to accept change?”

“I think if I were Steve Rogers, I would be very impressed with the iPad.”

Stark makes a face and crosses his arms. “You have the worst taste in tech, seriously.”

Cap grins, and raises what we can see of a single eyebrow. “You should tweet that, _'Captain America has the worst taste in technology.”_ Go on, I dare you. Watch the public backlash.”

“Tony no longer has access to his twitter account,” interjects Potts.

“Apparently I was a bit of a troll,” says Stark. “I hear that's not the thing to do, nowadays? I don't know, I've been busy being Iron Man and inventing cool things, I don't have time to keep up with internet etiquette.”

Potts' mouth turns up a little at the corner and she side-eyes him. I can't help but notice the relaxed clasp of their hands, Stark's thumb rubbing against her knuckles. “Tony started making a... thing out of retweeting technology reporters who posted ignorant comments. There may or may not have been an unfounded lawsuit.”

“How is that even a debate? It was completely unfounded.” Potts rolls her eyes, but her expression of exasperation is fond. “What? The whole point of twitter is to share and share alike, if they didn't want their bigoted and cretinous comments shared with my two million followers, then they shouldn't have posted the damn tweets in the first place.”

I nod a little in agreement, and Potts levels me with a stare. “Don't encourage him,” she warns. I take her advice and move on.

 

When I was five, my dad took me into the attic and opened a dusty old box. It was filled with Captain America comics, and I devoured them like you would expect of any tomboyish child who wished they were tall and could kick the proverbial baddie's behind. When I mention the generations of kids who grew up on fictionalized versions of him, Cap blushes a little, and shifts in his seat.

“Well, for starters, I'm certain the Captain America from the Second World War never _actually_ punched Hitler in the face.”

I ask how The Avengers would feel about similar stories being told about themselves and their adventures, and what their opinions are on being role models for a new generation of children.

Stark makes a face. “As much as I would love to have an awesome, handsome, kick ass comic character modeled after me...” He trails off and I notice Natalie looking at him, one eyebrow raised. She takes over from him, diplomatically stating that The Avengers are proud to be role models for any children who have ever needed to stand up to a force that seems insurmountable.

“But I draw the line at encouraging firing exploding arrows at bullies,” she adds, with a small grin in Barton's direction.

And if you'll believe Cap, that is ultimately what their mission is. Stopping bullies. Whether they be terrifyingly enormous armies from light years away, or a school kid who pushes another in the playground.

The Avengers may just be a group of extraordinary people who were thrown together in an extraordinary circumstance, but one thing is for sure. They are here, they are ready, and they will answer the call when earth is in peril.

“We want humanity to have a place to feel safe and protected, and right now, despite our triumph over the Chitauri, that feeling has been given a pretty hard knock. We might not be able to directly support everyone who is suffering, but we want to help empower people to help themselves. Reach out. Dare to dream the highest dreams and you will make a difference. Our job is to make tomorrow's world better, and a lot of that is about inspiration.”

“Wow, that was a lot better than your 'and Hulk... Smash'speech.” Stark slaps Cap on the shoulder and the two grin at one another.

“There's a reason why I'm the leader of this group, you know,” Cap replies.

As we wrap up the interview, shaking hands enthusiastically with smiles and kind words, I can't help but feel a swelling sense of pride. A feeling that, despite its foibles, our society has created these people who are so determined to fight for what is just and right.

There’s little doubt that some hard days lie ahead for humanity, but my experience with this group of people has left me nothing but hope for the future.

 

 


End file.
